Press Release

November 19, 2018 Institute of the Americas La Jolla, CA

At its November 15th, 2018 board meeting, the Institute of the Americas (IOA) announced a change in leadership. Effective November 19th, a new chairperson, vice-chair, and president will lead the organization. The IOA was founded 35 years ago by Ambassador Theodore E. Gildred Jr., in remembrance of his father, Theodore Gildred, Sr., both of whom lived and worked in Latin America. The IOA is a non-profit organization focused on promoting sound public policy and fostering cooperation between public and private sector stakeholders across the Western hemisphere.

After three years of service as the Institute’s president, Ambassador Jamal Khokhar announced that the “time has come for me to pursue new horizons.” He also added, “I greatly value my time working with the Institute’s team and Board of Directors and wish them every success as they move the Institution forward.”

Richard C. Hojel and Nelson W. Cunningham also successfully completed six-year tenures at the Institute’s helm as Chairperson and Vice Chair, respectively. They remain as Board members. Upon reflecting on his time as the Institute’s Chair, Mr. Hojel said, “It has been an honor to serve as Chairperson of the Institute of the Americas the last six years. I want to thank Nelson Cunningham, the entire Board of Directors and the IOA team for their unwavering support. It is time for a new team to take over the leadership of the Institute. I am confident Jorge Rosenblut, José Fimbres and Ted Gildred III will do a fantastic job.”

After working for decades as an executive leader in private industry and government, Mr. Jorge Rosenblut now works as an independent consultant helping clients incubate growth, encourage evolution from legacy practice, and transform business models to better manage disruption and re-emerge in their industries.

Mr. José Fimbres has been involved in food retail through Grupo Calimax S.A. and is a real estate developer of Industrial and commercial properties in Mexico.

Mr. Theodore E. Gildred III has sat on the Board of Directors of the Institute for nearly 20 years, and it is with great pride and enthusiasm that he is stepping in as President to steer the IOA toward a bright and exciting future. Mr. Gildred has extensive experience in Latin America and has worked for several years as an investment banker in New York and London specializing in Intra-Americas transactions. As the CEO of the Lomas Santa Fe Group and BV Resorts, LLC, he has focused on commercial hotel developments in the U.S. and Mexico.

The new leadership team echoes a central belief of the Board of Directors that in these challenging economic and political times, it is important to rely on Institutions like the IOA to help provide the necessary insight for companies and governments that aid timely decision making. The new leadership looks forward to strengthening IOA’s ties to Latin America through innovative ideas and joint cooperation with regional partners. The 35-year-old IOA is a needed and trusted locus where thought leaders, investors, government officials, and leading, experienced industry professionals can: have robust discussions on investment trends and opportunities; facilitate intense dialogue and policy debate; and, support high-level networking at its world-renowned headquarters on the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla, California.

Energy Reform in Mexico

Five years after the energy reform, regulatory compliance remains a principal issue and challenge for industry and government alike. Upstream operators have been facing a considerable burden of compliance costs given the complexities of the Mexican regulatory framework. Also important to understand is the backdrop created by Mexico’s political transition which includes the possibility that CNH and CRE will be placed under the authority of SENER and other new challenges that will increase the industry’s compliance risk profile.

The consequences of these sources of regulatory risks may vary from

delay in permits and authorizations,

non-compliance of contractual obligations,

contractual penalties including no access to additional exploratory periods and potentially unfavorable public relations issues and media coverage.

Webinar Presentation

Join us for a webinar presentation with Marco Cota, CEO of Talanza Energy, a firm dedicated to the study and analysis of energy policies and regulatory compliance in Mexico. He will share his perspectives on the main risks related to regulatory compliance for upstream operators and the current backdrop for the sector in Mexico.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, November 15 at 10:00 am San Diego (12:00 pm Mexico City time). Mr. Cota’s formal presentation will be followed by a live Q&A session with the audience.

Continuing with the last day of our #LJC2020 to discuss #gas and #power update -pipelines, #power markets and #renewables moderated by @MontseRamiroX @vozexpertamx with @memo_z @LeoBeltranR, Juancho Eekhout @IEnova_MX and Gerardo Serrato from Hartree Partners #LJC2020